On Tuesday, Nov. 6, Saratogians will have an opportunity to vote for a smarter, cheaper and faster city government. The local ballot question proposes to replace the current commission form of government with a council-manager form. The commission form of government was established in Saratoga Springs in 1915. It has served the city well, but it is time to focus forward to our 21st century needs.

There are three good reasons to vote "yes" for charter change and some corrections to make about the charges made by some who oppose the referendum.

First, the proposed charter will encourage more people to run for City Council. It removes the administrative duties of the City Council from the legislative responsibilities, making the job of a city councilor truly a part-time commitment. Currently, few want to serve on the City Council and seats are often uncontested. Enabling more to participate will make our policymaking more democratic. In particular, women have comprised only seven percent of the composition of the City Council over the past 96 years.

Second, the proposed charter introduces professional management to daily operations. While our school district has a professional superintendent and Saratoga County has a professional manager, the city of Saratoga Springs has no comparable access to such expertise and experience.

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Third, the proposed charter creates one management team to replace the five independent commissioners. To get to a smarter, cheaper and faster city government, you need to develop efficiencies from consolidation. Cost savings will only come from an integrated approach.

A recent study by IBM on local government concluded that cities that convert to the council-manager form usually develop savings equal to 10 percent of their budget.

Opponents claim that the council-manager form will result in higher taxes, that a city manager demands an exorbitant salary, and that there will be less accountability. Nonsense. There is neither academic nor documented support for such arguments. If the allegations were true, then why would the council-manager plan be the fastest growing form of local government across the country? The complete fiscal impact study of the proposed charter can be found at www. saratoga

As to the market salary of a city manager, it is far less than that of a school superintendent and only slightly above the current salaries of top department heads in Saratoga Springs. Salaries of city managers are public information. You can find out for yourself.

And, as to accountability, the city manager is one phone call or email away from any taxpayer. City Councils evaluate managers on their accountability. Across the country, more than 100 million people live under the council-manager form of government. Less than one million live under the commission form as we do. It has to do with accountability.

Brent Wilkes, a candidate for mayor in 2011, is an organizer of Saratoga Citizen, a group advocating for change in Saratoga Springs' commission form of government. He has a master's degree in public affairs and taught public administration.